Sushilkumar Shinde revives talks of NCP's merger with Congress

Union home minister and senior congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde has once again revived talks of Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) merger with the Congress.

Speaking at his hometown Solapur on Sunday, Shinde said, with the same ideological base, both Congress and the NCP have been fighting national issues. He said in near future both parties will become one.

“The Congress and the NCP have their roots in the same place and their ideology is also one. Previously they were together. Soon they may become one,” Shinde said on the sidelines of party workers meet.

Earlier, while addressing the congress workers, Shinde said, the NCP has decided to come up with its office in Solapur even as congress already has one in this area. “While the NCP soon going to have a separate office in the city. They will have to work together (with Congress) in future. Under such circumstances, the city unit chief will work from one building while his deputy will work from another building,” Shinde said in a lighter vein.

In the past, many congress leaders including party general secretary Digvijay Singh have kindled talks about NCP’s merger with Congress. However every time when talks of merger were made, the NCP reacted strongly denying any such plans. NCP president Sharad Pawar has on numerous occasions maintained that NCP will continue to retain its separate identity.

Recently Shinde had said he would be happy to see Sharad Pawar as the prime minister. “Pawar is the tallest leader in Maharashtra and I would be very happy to see him become prime minister.

Shinde is keen to contest Lok Sabha elections once again from Solapur, a constituency with considerable presence of NCP. In the last few days, Shinde has addressed party conventions at local level expressing his gratitude towards workers for standing behind him for more than four decades.